Decembers stock market fall a glitch, shares to rise again

President Trump on Wednesday said the USA stock market's poor performance in December was a "glitch" that would correct itself once his administration completes key trade deals with China and other nations.

Trump, speaking to reporters at a cabinet meeting, sounded upbeat about negotiations to reach a trade deal with China, saying they are coming along very well.

The Trump administration has renegotiated trade deals with South Korea (KORUS), and Canada, and Mexico.

Stocks booked their worst December since 1931 last month, and the three major U.S. indexes posted their biggest annual declines since 2008. He assured the market is "going to go up once we settle trade issues and a couple of other things happen" and has "got a long way to go". Japan has worked with the USA on trade agreements.

Last month was the worst December for the market since 1931, during the Great Depression. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 2018 down 5.6 percent, while the S&P 500 fell 6.2 percent and the Nasdaq dropped 4 percent. But outside the month, all three major indexes also posted their largest annual declines since 2008 - the depths of the financial crisis.